Isn't It Time

by Graham, Susan J.

  That. That was why I was nervous. Although it was a simple, friendly kiss, I was afraid he was going to try to take it further. And I was starting to have second thoughts about whether or not I wanted that.

  I eased myself out of the semi-embrace. “You’re welcome. Are you ready to go?”

  “Yep.” He winked at me as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Can you point me in the direction of the bathroom first?”

  I walked him down the hall to the guest bathroom then, deciding that was a good idea, went to use the bathroom in my bedroom. While I was washing my hands I was thinking of Jack. I was happy about going out tonight, something I didn’t normally do during the week, and I liked Nate, but I was wishing Jack was coming along. It wasn’t like we spent every minute of every day together, so it was strange for me to realize that I was missing him.

  And something was going on with him. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. The change was subtle, because he was always sweet and affectionate, but it seemed he was ramping the affection up a notch and I wondered why.

  Maybe he had felt more from our kiss than he had let on. Maybe he was trying to work up to trying it again - or maybe he was indirectly trying to move our relationship in a different direction. I realized I was almost hoping that was the case. My own feelings were doing some subtle shifting and I had been giving a lot of thought to what a romantic relationship with Jack might be like. Deep in my heart, I knew it could only make our already strong relationship even better – and I wouldn’t have thought that was possible. But I still had that damn fear. A fear I was starting to question as maybe being irrational.

  But Nate was waiting and I didn’t really want to get started on looking for answers I would never be able to find on my own. Jack and I needed to talk. I decided I would try to work up the nerve to have an honest conversation with him, maybe sometime after Thursday when my period would be over and my emotions should be more stable.

  Nate was waiting by the front door when I came out. “All set?” he asked.

  “Yep, let’s go.”

  He was slightly behind me as we walked the short distance to his car and he put his hand on the small of my back, directing me to the passenger side of his car. He held the door open while I got in and by the time he got to his side and got behind the wheel, my nervousness was back. This felt a little too much like a date, rather than two friends getting together for a night out.

  Thankfully the traffic wasn’t too bad and we both laughed as we saw the mile-long line of trucks waiting to exit the expressway and get into Canada. “Holy shit. I think I’m glad we changed our plans,” Nate said, looking incredulously at the back-up. “We would have wasted most of the night just trying to get across the bridge.”

  “Here’s something you don’t know about me, Nate. I don’t wait in long lines for anything. There is nothing I want so badly that I would be willing to waste all that time just sitting there. I would have made you change plans the minute I saw that,” I said, with a nod toward the line of trucks. Even travelling at seventy miles per hour, we still hadn’t reached the front of that line.

  “You would have made me, huh?”

  “Yeah. You would have gladly given in just so I would stop bitching about it.”

  “Ah, the power of the bitch,” he said, laughing.

  “Works every time,” I smugly informed him.

  He snorted at that and during the short drive to our exit he told me some of the tricks his sisters used to get what they wanted. He claimed their tricks didn’t work on him because he knew them too well.

  “Well, they’re your sisters, so that’s different,” I said. “What about Kayla? Doesn’t she ever play the bitch card to get her way?”

  “Never,” he said firmly.

  “Oh, I doubt it,” I argued. “Maybe she’s just perfected the art and you don’t even realize she’s getting you to do what she wants. We’re good at that, too.”

  He turned left into the casino parking garage. “Huh. Maybe I don’t know women as well as I thought I did.”

  “And you never will.”

  He laughed and we turned our attention to trying to find a parking space. He went up several tightly-packed levels before finding a spot on the fourth.

  “Wow,” I said, unbuckling my seat belt and looking around the garage. “Look how crowded this place is. And it’s Monday! Doesn’t anyone stay home during the week?”

  “Apparently not.” He removed his own seat belt and we got out of the car, meeting at the rear. “I hope there aren’t any long lines inside, or you’ll make me leave.”

  “You got that right.”

  We walked rather quickly across the parking lot, as if we had only seconds to make it inside before the opportunity was lost forever. We entered the casino and squeezed ourselves into the packed elevator and rode it to the first floor.

  Finally reaching the casino itself, we stopped and took it all in. There were people walking about everywhere, and they all seemed to be in a hurry. Slot machines were insistently ringing and lucky winners were shouting over the more subtle sounds of buzzing conversations. A light cloud of cigarette smoke drifted toward the ceiling as some heavy-duty exhaust fans kept it from being irritating.

  “Ah,” said Nate, taking my hand. “Can you smell that?”

  I sniffed. “No. What?”

  He looked down at me and grinned. “That unique casino smell – smoke and alcohol and a fine layer of desperation.”

  I laughed at the truth of that as he led me by the hand and navigated through the masses. “What do you want to play?” he asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Do you want to just walk around and see what looks interesting?”

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  We spent the next thirty minutes fighting the crowd and searching for anything that might have two spots available together. We lingered by the table games and Nate scanned them hopefully, but the only available seats were at the $100 tables.

  “Wow,” said Nate. “This is crazy. What do you say we go see if we can find a seat at the bar and wait some of this out?”

  I agreed and we walked to a partially enclosed circular bar in the center of the casino. I sensed rather than saw Nate’s shoulders slump as we stood at the entrance surveying the wall-to-wall people inside.

  “Now don’t panic,” I said to him, holding up a hand. “I don’t have many skills, but I am very good at spotting who is about to get up from a bar stool.”

  I pulled him toward the center of the room, standing in front of the long bar area. I looked carefully at each person sitting there, watching what they were doing and assessing body language.

  “There!” I exclaimed, tugging his hand. “Hurry! Those two at the other end are just about to leave. And they’re end seats!” My excitement at this was such that I said that last part just as enthusiastically as I might have said I was just commissioned to repaint the Sistine Chapel.

  I dragged him with me to the other end of the bar and we arrived just as the couple sitting there turned in their stools and prepared to get up. I clamped my hand onto the backrest of one of the stools, laying claim before someone could beat me to it, and flashed my most winning smile at the exiting woman. I apologized for invading her space but she didn’t respond and dejectedly walked away, trailing closely at the back of her companion.

  Relieved to be off our feet, we sat down, me on the end seat and Nate to my left. Nate started a tab with the bartender, ordering a beer for himself and vodka and grapefruit juice for me. I had debated the advisability of drinking again, but decided I would just have one and see how it went.

  “See?” I said to Nate after our drinks arrived. “All is not lost. We have a seat, a drink and a game built right into the bar.” I was happy about this. If I played anything, I preferred to play video poker or, occasionally, if Jack was with me for guidance, blackjack.

  “Yeah, this will work.” Nate pulled out his wallet, retrieved a $20 bill and slid it into the machine.
I did the same, only with $10. After my earlier spending spree in the lingerie department, I had given myself a miserly budget of $20 for the night. I was confident I could make it last.

  Nate opted to play video blackjack and I selected a regular poker game. Being the big spender that I am, I bet one quarter and dealt the cards. Nate leaned over to look at my machine and laughed. “One quarter? You know you should bet all five if you want to maximize your wins, right?”

  “Oh, I know. But I’m feeling cheap tonight so I’d rather minimize my losses.” Looking at the three of a kind I had drawn, I added, “Besides, I just made fifty cents. What did you do?”

  “I lost five dollars,” he sighed.

  “See? So shut up.”

  We laughed and continued to play while sipping our drinks and teasing each other. I raised my eyebrows and smirked when he pulled out his wallet for the third time. I looked pointedly at my screen, which showed I now had a balance of $11.25.

  He laughed and shook his head. “Shut up. The night’s young.”

  “Slow and steady wins the race,” I said wisely, leaning over my drink and sucking some up through the straw.

  “Yeah, we’ll see,” he snorted. He finished off the rest of his beer and set it on the bar. “I need to go find the bathroom. Can you order me another beer if the bartender gets over this way?”

  “Sure, no problem. I’ll just sit here and make more money while you’re gone.”

  He caught me off guard when he bent over and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. “Be right back.” And then he was gone.

  I leaned against the back of my seat and blew out a slow breath. Just like the kiss in my kitchen, it was given very casually. Not a big deal. It could even be construed as friendly. But it left me feeling jittery just the same.

  I removed the swizzle stick from my drink and chewed on it while I took a break and looked around the room. My eyes widened in appreciation when I saw a man who could only be described as tall, dark and brooding walk into the bar. Dark, short hair, longer on the top, with one piece that fell down over his forehead. As I watched, he ran his hand through his hair, pushing back the errant piece while he slowly scanned the room. Nicely trimmed goatee, black leather jacket, black tee shirt, black jeans, black belt, and black boots. I couldn’t see his eye color from where I was, but I would guess black.

  There was a small silver ring pierced through his left eyebrow and although I didn’t see any visible tattoos, I felt sure he had them.

  He was exactly the kind of guy I loved as a fictional romantic hero – but had little interest in when it came to real life. Oh, sure, he was awesome to look at, but I preferred my men to be like Jack – a laid back, secure, well-adjusted adult who could make me laugh and wasn’t carrying around any emotional baggage.

  I paused at that thought but didn’t have time to delve further into why I was holding Jack up as my romantic ideal - because Tall, Dark, and Hot turned his head in my direction and locked his eyes on mine.

  Shit. I quickly looked away and pretended to be deeply engrossed in my single-quarter betting, biting harder on the swizzle stick still dangling attractively from my mouth.

  I caught a flash of black moving in on my right side and knew he had walked over and was leaning sideways against the bar. I could feel his eyes on me, but acted as if I didn’t notice. I prayed he would order a drink and go away. No such luck.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said.

  First of all, I hated it when men I didn’t know greeted me by calling me beautiful. It grated on my nerves and fairly reeked of player. I looked up to see him smiling at me and, oh my God, he was really gorgeous up close.

  “Hi,” I said, lifting my chin but not smiling. I returned my eyes to my game and bet another quarter.

  Not at all put off by my lack of enthusiasm, he asked, “Would you like some company?”

  “No,” I said. Then remembering my manners, I looked back up at him and added, “Thank you.”

  “Oh, I see,” he said, no longer smiling. “You’re too good for someone like me, is that it?”

  Now he was just pissing me off. That was quite a chip he had on his shoulder. I slowly removed the swizzle stick from my mouth and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe.” I watched his jaw tighten at that and then added, “Or maybe you’re too good for me. Hard to say since I don’t know you.”

  He blinked at me a couple of times, then his jaw relaxed and he started laughing. And I hated to admit it, but he had a great laugh - and it made me smile.

  “I think I like you,” he said, extending his right hand to me. “I’m Finn.”

  I took his hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Finn.”

  He stared at me for a second, released my hand and asked, “And your name?”

  “She won’t tell you her name unless she’s properly introduced – she has a rule. And she sure won’t be telling it to you, you ugly son of a bitch.”

  Oh my God. Nate had snuck up right behind Finn, crowding him and growling directly into his ear. I froze with my eyebrows practically hitting my hairline. My heart started palpitating wildly at this disturbingly possessive side of Nate. I couldn’t believe easygoing Nate was pressing for a fight with a guy of Finn’s size. Or a guy of any size, really.

  Finn’s whole body went on alert, stiffening as he turned slowly, putting his back to the bar. “What the fuck…” he started. His face relaxed and his scowl turned into a wide smile. Then he was laughing as he exclaimed, “Nate? What the hell, man?” He shook hands with Nate, who was also laughing and I watched as they exchanged a man hug, pounding each other’s backs while they continued to shake hands.

  I let out the breath I didn’t even know I had been holding and relaxed in my seat.

  “What are you doing here, man? I thought you still lived in Ohio.”

  “I do. I’m in town doing some work for Jack this week,” Nate explained. “And, speaking of Jack, this is his friend, Angie Richards. Angie, meet Finn Brogan. He’s not nearly as obnoxious as he looks.”

  “Friend, as in girlfriend, friend?” Finn asked me.

  “No, just a friend. So you know Jack, too?” I was starting to wonder if I was destined to meet all of Jack’s friends in random bars.

  “Hell yeah, I know Jack! He dated my sister for two years while we were all in college.”

  “Oh, Lauren?” I asked, although I was pretty sure she was the only one Jack had dated for that length of time.

  “The very same. I take it you’ve heard of her?”

  “Yeah, he’s mentioned her a couple of times.” In truth, he had only mentioned her once. He had told me the story of how, after two years, she had unexpectedly dumped him for her lab partner. He had been surprised, but not hurt. He said by that point they were together more out of habit than because they shared any deep feelings. As far as I knew, they parted on good terms.

  The bartender finally showed up and Nate reclaimed his seat after ordering another round, including a beer for Finn, who was leaning on the end of the bar again.

  “So how is Lauren?” Nate asked, leaning forward and talking across me. “Still in California?”

  “Yeah. She’s doing great. She and John had a baby girl around Christmas. Cutest kid you ever saw.”

  “She must look like her mother, then, because her father is butt-ugly.”

  “True,” Finn said and he and Nate laughed when I swatted at Nate’s arm and scolded him.

  “Well he is!” Nate protested, rubbing his arm.

  The bartender set fresh drinks in front of us and I hurriedly drank the last of my old one and handed him the empty glass. So far, no effect from the alcohol, so I relaxed some more and bet another quarter.

  “How’s the private investigating going?” Nate asked.

  “Pretty good. I’ve been doing some bounty hunting, too, when things are slow. Matter of fact, that’s why I’m here tonight. A guy jumped bail in Albuquerque and was traced here. I got some information that he hangs out in this bar, but I haven’t spotte
d him yet.”

  I glanced around to see if anyone in the bar looked like a bail-jumping criminal. Most of them did, so I turned back around and left the bounty hunting to the expert.

  “You know, Jack’s got a bit of a situation at work and it’s possible he might need to use an investigator,” Nate told Finn.

  Finn pulled out his wallet and handed a business card to Nate. “There’s some new contact information there. Tell him to give me a call if he needs me. Where is Jack tonight? I’d love to see him. I think it’s been close to a year since we got together.”

  “He’s at a dinner meeting, but he’s here downtown somewhere. I’ll text him and see if he’s free yet.”

  I perked up at that and hoped he was free. I’d love to see him, too.

  Nate’s phone beeped before he had even set it down and he looked at the display. “He says he was just leaving, and he can be here in about ten minutes.”

  “Excellent. This is turning out to be a much better night than I expected,” Finn said, winking at me. I smiled at him, shaking my head, and he laughed.

  “Whoa,” I said, straightening up and looking at my screen. “Speaking of Jack…”

  Nate and Finn both leaned in to look at my game. The ace, king, queen and ten of hearts. I carefully held each card and paused with my finger over the draw button. “Jack, jack, jack,” I chanted under my breath.

  “Do it, baby,” Finn encouraged.

  I closed my eyes and pressed the button. “Yes!” Nate exclaimed. “Good job!” I opened my eyes to see the jack of hearts completing my royal flush.

  “Woohoo!” I high-fived Nate and then Finn.

  “Wow, how much does that pay?” asked Finn.

  I checked the screen. “Sixty-two fifty,” I informed him proudly.

  “That’s all? For a freaking royal flush?”

  “Yeah, when you’re only betting one quarter at a time,” Nate said. “Angie, if you had been betting all five quarters, you would have just won a thousand dollars.”

  “Holy shit,” said Finn.

  “If I had been betting all five quarters I would have been out of money a long time ago. Ergo, no thousand dollars - and no sixty-two fifty.” I picked up my drink and took a long swallow, excited by my relatively puny win.